


The Three Princes

by JamieB93



Series: Blood Feud [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Abusive Parents, Abusive Relationships, Adorable Harley Keener, Adorable Harry Osborn, Adorable Peter Parker, Dark Norman Osborn, Dark Richard Parker, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Harry Osborn are Siblings, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Harley Keener, Kid Harry Osborn, Kid Peter Parker, Norman Osborn Being a Jerk, Norman Osborn's A+ parenting, Precious Harry Osborn, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Ben Parker, Protective Mary Parker, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), They're all Norman's sons, it's coming we're just not there yet, precious harley keener
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:28:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23733865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieB93/pseuds/JamieB93
Summary: Christine Everhart has been given the task of profiling notorious businessman Norman Osborne and his family; wife Mary and their three sons - Harry, Peter and Harley.During a weekend visit to the Osborne's mansion, Christine discovers everything is not what it seems.[First part in a planned series called Blood Feud.]
Relationships: Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener & Harry Osborn, Harley Keener & May Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Harry Osborn, Harry Osborn & May Parker (Spider-Man), Harry Osborn & Norman Osborn, Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, Mary Parker & May Parker, Mary Parker/Richard Parker, May Parker & Peter Parker, Norman Osborn & Harley Keener, Norman Osborn & Peter Parker, Norman Osborn/Mary Parker
Series: Blood Feud [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709539
Comments: 6
Kudos: 116





	The Three Princes

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo....I went and wrote 10.2k words of an idea that came to me last week. Unlike most of my stories, this one I have fully planned out from the start and it's going to be a very slow burn. I will only add revelant tags when they come up in the story.

**Blood Feud: The Gathering Storm.**

Part One: The Three Princes (Christine Everhart)

_Friday, 8 th August 2008, an upper-class restaurant in Manhattan, 9:09pm._

It was only ever supposed to have been a brief expose and profile of Norman Osborne and his family. The notable Manhattan natives had long been the subject of national and global attention following Oscorp’s revolutionary advances in DNA-based recovery practices for war veterans following the Iraq invasion. The leaps made had been nothing short of miraculous; using copies of DNA and blood samples, Norman Osborne and his scientists had been able to completely replicate fully functioning limbs and organs. In the four and a half years since the medical breakthrough, over one thousand injured United States Army personnel had been treated using Osborne’s new technology and had all made full recoveries. Many would have said it was the work of magic but for the fact Norman Osborne had been able to show off and explain his exact Scientific explanations. It was all kosher, no one questioned a thing. Decades later, however, it would be impossible not to look back on these events and see them as the beginning of the end. The start of a very long-winded struggle that cost multiple people their lives and saw the United States suffer through the worst conflict on its own soil in its history.

But that would be jumping ahead.

Osborne’s scientific breakthrough didn’t just benefit injured soldiers, the man himself was made a billionaire from it, and the stock of Oscorp ran exponentially higher. Thanks to his charm and charisma, Norman found his public profile rising by the day, and he enjoyed the celebrity. Norman had been born into a notable family, educated at Harvard, he’d always been somewhat in the public-eye. Indeed, when he married the beautiful and enigmatic Mary Holland in 1994 it had made the front pages of Vanity Fair, People and TIME magazines. But the new publicity afforded to him as a result of his breakthrough had made Norman Osborne a household name, a national hero and the subject of much debate when it came to conversations surrounding a possible political career.

On the night of August 8th, Norman and his wife Mary sat down to dinner in an upper scale Manhattan restaurant named Alessandro’s with renowned journalist Christine Everhart. Working for J. Jonah Jameson at _The Daily Bugle_ , Everhart had been tasked with covering the Osborne’s over the course of the summer as Norman tested the waters for a possible political run. Christine smiled and took a sip of her martini as the now familiar couple came into the restaurant and smiled at passer’s by as they were shown to their table. Mary, as always, wore white. Blonde, immaculate and beautiful, Christine had to admit she found her as charming as the rest of the country seemed to. It was no task painting her as likable, it just radiated out of her.

Norman was proving trickier. Whilst undoubtedly a brilliant and unique mind, Christine had struggled at first to gage just how to make Norman come across as a likable man of the people. He was courteous to his staff, but never anything more than that, and he even seemed quite standoffish with his own children. She had managed to find a niche for Norman to operate within; unwaveringly professional. Portraying him as a man so driven by his passion to do good that he had no time for bothersome formalities such as basic politeness and empathy might not have won him any personality contests, but it was golden when it came to addressing his political ambitions.

Behind the Osborne’s at another table sat Quentin Beck and Ben Parker. Both men had become a constant presence in Christine’s life since she began covering the Osborne’s. Beck was Norman’s personal assistant, had been for fifteen years, he was attractive but Christine could tell he was a bit of a slime ball. He seemed to always have a new girlfriend on his arm every few weeks, each seemingly younger than the last, but she couldn’t deny Beck was great his job. Anything Norman wanted or demanded, Beck had it ready in minutes. She got the impression that it was Beck, not Norman’s wife Mary, who held the most secrets about the man.

Ben Parker was the head of security. A very ordinary, blue collar kind of guy, Christine could tell living in this world was something a little strange for Ben. He lived with his wife May, who was nanny to the Osborne’s three sons, in Queens and seemed to want to keep out of most things that didn’t seem relevant to his job role. Still it was clear from what Christine had seen that Ben was a vital part of the Osborne machine and was at the very least adored by Mary and the boys.

“Good evening, Miss Everhart” Norman said with a smile, kissing both of Christine’s cheeks as she got up to shake his hand, “Looking as lovely as ever.”

“Thank you, Mr. Osborne” Christina said with a smile as she leaned over and kissed Mary’s cheek, “You are both looking well. How was Martha’s Vineyard?”

“Oh wonderful as always” Mary said as they sat down, “The boys loved it, and it was so nice to be away from the city for a little while, even if it was only four days. But Norman doesn’t like to be away from things for too long.”

“And how are the boys?” Christine asked keenly, she couldn’t deny she had grown rather fond of the Osborne’s three adolescent sons over the past three months, “I’ll bet Peter’s really looking forward to his birthday. You don’t mind that I got him a card and a little something, do you?”

“Not at all” Norman said with a smile, “The boy only turns eleven once, we may as well make it as special as we can. Besides, they’ve all been asking why Auntie Christine didn’t come on vacation with us. I’m afraid you’ve become a part of the family fold, Miss Everhart, lord help you.”

Christine laughed to be polite, though deep down she couldn’t have imagined a fate worse than being familial tied to Norman Osborne for the rest of his life. She liked Mary. She adored the boys. She was not a fan of Norman. But she was a journalist, and a damn good one, so what were personal gripes? Norman was a staunchly conservative man and just saw the world in a vastly different way than Christine did. It had made for some interesting, passionate discussions between the two over the last twelve weeks which had allowed Christine to dig deeper on what made Norman Osborne tick. A win-win.

“Oh, I’m sure they haven’t missed me that much” she replied with a wink to Mary.

“They have been asking after you” Mary replied warmly, “I think poor May must have been rather tried of hearing your name by the end of our stay. We’ve given her a few days off to recover from the trauma of taking care of three boys around the clock on vacation, sadly I don’t think it was much of one for her.”

Christine paused. That was strange. She knew that May Parker was a trusted and talented employee, even Norman seemed to like and respect her, and the Osborne boys worshiped the ground she walked on. But for May to have been dispatched on the families vacation to Martha’s Vineyard and then run ragged by the boys seemed very strange. Before they went, Mary had told Christine that this was an opportunity to spend some quality time together as a family but clearly this hadn’t happened. Something was afoot.

“She is a saint” Christine agreed, “So, one thing I wanted to run over with you is plans for the next few weeks. Unless Mr. Jameson gives me an extensions, which I am hoping for, we are now in the home stretch in regards to me covering you in any official capacity. I know Peter’s birthday party is in the next few days, but are there any immediate functions I need to be made aware of between now and the middle of September?”

“None that come to mind” Norman replied, “We do have one or two minor engagements to attend as guests, but I don’t see any reason to bore you with Reed Richards’ self-aggrandizing campaign events if you can avoid them.”

Christine smirked a little. There were two men in American whom Norman Osborne seemed to regard as his absolute mortal enemies: Reed Richards and Tony Stark. Richards because he shared Osborne’s same political ambitions and Stark because he was Oscorp’s biggest immediate rival. Christine had noticed how unmoved Norman had been by the summer’s real big headline making story, Tony Stark’s kidnapping. It was like he was the only person in America not transfixed by the tale; Christine was somewhat frustrated that for the life of her, she just couldn’t seem to get a good scoop on Norman’s feelings on the matter.

“Harry was asking about him the other day” Mary chimed in, “Apparently, Richard’s wife Sue has a younger brother who is due to start at Midtown in the new fall semester.”

“Ahh, yes, that would be Johnathan” Christine supplied, “Nice kid, shame what happened to their folks. Johnny’s a bit of a character though, Sue and Reed have been having some trouble reigning him in. I imagine he’s starting at Midtown because his boarding school kicked him out.”

“Well, I shall be telling our boys to stay well away from Johnathan Storm” Norman snapped, “They don’t need to be dragged down to his levels. Lord knows, Harry and Harley are causing us enough headaches as it is.”

“Oh, I’m sure Johnathan is a lovely boy, really” Mary said with a smile, “He’s probably just a bit lost without his parents, poor thing.”

“Oh you say that now Mary” Norman argued back, “Talk to me in six months when he’s got Harry hooked on PCP.”

The statement was clearly made as a joke but Christine made sure to note, as always, how over the top Norman Osborne seemed to get at any suggestion of an outside influence infiltrating the Osborne family image of America’s Wholesome best.

Mary merely rolled her eyes and pretended to take a sip of her wine. That was the third time she had done that since they’d arrived, and Christine noticed that the glass was still as a full as it had been when they’d arrived. Not that Mary was ever much of a drinker, but she would have expected at least a little bit of the glass to have gone by now.

Mary Osborne was pregnant.

Christine had to stop herself gasping over something she’d just worked out in her own head. This was one hell of a scoop. It had been generally understood that after a few complications following the birth of their youngest son, Harley, that Mary would not be able to have anymore children. This had apparently been devastating to Norman who had always wanted a large family, and a daughter. So the fact Mary was pregnant again would be big news. She had to ask, she had to.

“Mary, are you not enjoying the wine?” Christine asked, “You’ve not taken a sip yet, I can have another bottle ordered if you don’t like this one…”

“Oh I’m fine” Mary said somewhat nervously, “Just not really in the mood for a drink.”

“Sweetie, we may as well just tell her” Norman sighed, “If Miss Everhart is any kind of a decent journalist, as we know she is, she’s likely already figured it out.”

Mary’s lip quivered a little and Christine felt slightly guilty. It was clear that due to her history, Mary was not keen to rush this news and had wanted to keep it as private for as long as possible. Norman chose this moment to yawn and cast a protective arm around his wife’s shoulders, giving her a little squeeze. Mary looked at her husband and smiled, though it did not reach her eyes.

“I’m pregnant” she said in hushed tones towards Christine, “Not very far along, no more than eight weeks, but that’s why…why I’m not drinking. And why May came on vacation with us. Norman didn’t want to take any risks regarding the baby’s health.”

Norman nodded along and Christine couldn’t help but feel a little troubled by the fact Mary had alluded to concerns over the baby’s health and not her own.

“We’re keeping a close eye on it” Norman said, in equally hushed tones but with a smile on his face, “Weekly check-ups and Mary’s meeting with nutritionists and dieticians to work out the best health care plans going forward.”

“I see” Christine said with a nod, breaking away from eye-contact with Norman to look right at Mary, “Well, I suppose I should pass on my congratulations, I know you’ve both always wanted another baby. I’m sure you’ll be absolutely glowing, Mary.”

“I hope so” Mary replied with a sad smile, “Like Norman said, we’re taking all necessary precautions, and the boys are awfully excited. Harley’s tickled pink he’s not going to the baby of the family anymore.”

“Unless it’s a girl, then he’ll still be the littlest boy” Norman chuckled. “We’re hoping for a little girl this time. Not that I don’t love my boys, I do, but a girl would be a nice change of pace, wouldn’t it sweetheart?”

“Yes, a girl would be lovely this time around” Mary smiled, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I just need to go and use the bathroom.”

Mary got up in a haste, collected her purse and headed off towards the ladies room. Christine sat back in her seat and sighed. She felt sorry for the woman. It was clear this pregnancy was a big thing for her and her husband was just taking over, ruling the roost and now allowing Mary to deal with it in her own way. It was just another pin in how controlling Christine found Norman Osborne to be.

“The boys have been told then?” she asked him.

“Oh yes, I told them pretty much immediately” Norman replied, “Doesn’t do to keep secrets and they are all quite rambunctious when they want to be, they needed to know that they had to be safe and responsible around the baby for the next eight months. I think Harry and Harley may struggle with that, they’re always rolling around and getting themselves all dirty. They can be very undignified.”

 _“They’re children. They’re boys aged thirteen and nine. Of course they are.”_ Christine wanted to shout at the man but she valued her job and her reputation – which Osborne could destroy in seconds if he wanted to, something he’d reminded her when she first came to report on them – too much to do so.

Beck came over and sat down next to Norman in Mary’s empty seat.

“Are we really sure telling a journalist is the best idea?” he asked, paying Christine no regard.

“She knows what she can and can’t report” Norman said with a smile, he definitely was paying Christine some attention. It was masked in a jovial smile but Christine knew a threat when she heard one. No, this was not something she’d be reporting back to Jameson.

Beck vacated his seat and headed back to his own table when Mary returned. She looked fresh faced and immaculate as she re-took her seat and kissed her husband on the cheek. He grinned and kissed her back, taking her hand in his. Christine smiled. She knew, whatever else she may have believed about the man, that at the very least there was genuine love between the two.

“So, who has the boys tonight if Mrs. Parker is off?” Christine asked.

“Oh, Steven’s with them” Mary replied happily, “There’s no one we trust with our boys more than Norman’s old college roommate. Even if he did always try to lead Norman astray.”

Norman smirked.

“But I never yielded” he said proudly.

“Oh no” said Christine as she took a drink of her martini, “I bet you didn’t”

*

_Saturday, 9 th August 2008, Osborne Manner, Long Island, New York. _

Christine found herself driving up to the Osborne’s Long Island mansion the next morning. She had been invited back by Mary to save her the drive at dinner the previous night but Christine had needed at least four Martini’s to get through a cordial dinner with Norman and she had no intention of staying with the Osborne’s without her car. She didn’t really mind the drive as it gave her time to ponder her next move. She was definitely going to ask Jameson for an extension, the Osborne’s were on the cusp of becoming Christine’s breakthrough scoop and she didn’t want to miss a moment, even if she was finding their patriarch more and more unbearable by the day.

Peter Osborne’s birthday was the next day and their was a lavish party being planned for the boy. It was all very strange. Peter was turning 11, which was hardly a milestone birthday and Harry’s 13th birthday which had been just weeks before had not had nearly as much fanfare. All it seemed purposed to do in Christine’s opinion was re-enforce that Peter was clearly Norman’s favorite child and give the budding politician a chance to schmooze with big wigs. Christine had been sent a copy of the guest list and unless young Peter had shown an alarming interest in New York real estate, it hardly seemed fitting for an eleven-year old’s birthday. The four children from his class who had actually been invited seemed almost like a nearly forgotten but essential afterthought.

“So, we’ll be having the canopy’s over here and I think the chocolate fountain over there” Norman said as he showed Christine the plans for the party. She’d arrived only five minutes before and hadn’t managed to even say hello to Mary or the boys before Norman had grabbed her and immediately started showing her the plans for the grand party. He apparently had business in Manhattan to attend to that afternoon so he wanted some time with her pretty much immediately. Christine nodded along as carters rushed to work around them.

The family lived in a penthouse in Manhattan for most of the school year. Harry and Peter were attendees of Midtown Junior High School, a feeder school to the more prestigious Midtown High, which Norman hoped they would both attend when the time was right. Harley wasn’t old enough to attend yet and due to the lack of elementary schools which Norman approved of, he was home educated by a combination of his mother, May Parker and hired tutor.

Osborne Manner was Norman’s ancestral home in Long Island. He was old money and his family had owned the land for over two hundred years. Despite the fact his parents, Welles and Eleanor, were still living it was Norman who owned the house as his elderly folks had retired to California some six years ago. Christine understood that one of Norman’s tasks in the city that afternoon would be picking them up from JFK as they were flying in to attend Peter’s birthday. Christine was very much looking forward to meeting the people who had raised the calculating son of a bitch (she assumed, though from what she’d heard, bitch seemed like a pretty apt description of Eleanor Osborne).

The family spent their summers in the mansion which was buzzing with party planning activity as Norman insisted on showing Christine the grounds. She didn’t really understand why as she’d been up to the mansion countless times since the family took up residence for the summer, but she gathered he probably wanted an opportunity to talk one on one and make sure Christine hadn’t said anything to Jameson yet regarding Mary’s pregnancy. She hadn’t, but she’d been sorely tempted.

“It’s such a nice view from here” Christine said with a smile as she looked out over the large lake that separated the Osborne’s from their nearest neighbors, “Always reminds me of The Great Gatsby, the way you can look across and see that other mansion.”

Norman hummed.

“Always considered him a fool, Gatsby” he replied, “One of the great pretenders. Bells and whistles don’t buy you class, it’s in your blood”

Christine frowned and just about managed to resist informing Norman that he’d completely missed the point of the whole book but decided it wasn’t worth it. Evidently, enough time had passed for a one on one interaction and Norman directed them back into the house. It all seemed very rushed but Christine supposed Norman had places to be and people to see, though she did find it strange that despite his insistence for a one on one conversation, he’d not disclosed any information she’d not been privy too for months.

Norman lead Christine into the kitchen where she found Mary Osborne and May Parker talking in good spirits. Mary was stood in the kitchen, rolling some dough, whilst May was perched on a stool with a glass of wine in hand. Both were talking in hushed tones until they noticed Christine and Norman enter which prompted them both to stop talking. As always, the smile that Christine received from Mary in the presence of her husband was a little troubling. False.

“Christine, wonderful to see you” May Parker said quickly. She practically jumped off her stool and reached her hand out for Christine to shake. Christine gladly did. She liked May a lot. Like Ben, she was outwardly and openly without any form of pretension, she had an almost hippy like vibe to her. Everything about May Parker screamed relaxation and it was a quality Christine knew was needed around Norman Osborne. It was probably why Christine was so looking forward to the afternoon. The house was always infinitely more at ease when Norman and Beck weren’t around and Mary was left to run things. The difference in Mary alone when Norman wasn’t around was exponential. Not that Christine would ever tell anyone that. It was clear her job here was to portray the perfect American family and until she felt confident enough that she could be protected from Osborne’s influence should she defy that order as she was sometimes tempted, that was what she was going to do.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Parker” Christine smiled back, “I was under the impression that you’d been given some time off after being…what was it, run ragged by the boys at Martha’s Vineyard?”

“Oh, I’m fine” May replied with a chuckle, “And yes, officially, I am on vacation and am not here. But I wasn’t going to miss Peter’s birthday so I’m here on a voluntarily basis for the next two days.”

Mary smiled fondly as May re-took her seat.

“Voluntarily helping yourself to wine, I see” Norman pointed out.

If the dig bothered May, she gave no indication.

“Norman, you’re not paying me to be here right now” she said as she finished the glass off, “Give me paid leave and I’ll do whatever you want, until then, it’s wine o’clock.”

“Touché” Norman sighed after a beat too long of silence. Christine marveled. She had no idea how May of all people managed to get away with talking to the billionaire in such a way. Not even May’s own husband or Quentin Beck were permitted to call Norman by his first name, and yet May did so and in such a teasing way, and he allowed it. Christine could never quite figure this man out.

“Where are the boys?” Norman asked Mary directly.

“Oh, they should be just about finished with their training workout with Ben” Mary replied with a smile.

“Workout?” Christine blanched.

“Oh, it’s a fairly new thing” Norman said with a smile, “The boys do at least an hour and a half of a fitness workout with Ben after breakfast every morning. We had a bit of a late start today so that’s why it’s run over into lunch time.”

“I see” Christine replied slowly, “When did this change then? As far as I can recall, you didn’t have this in place before the Vineyard trip.”

“It was on the trip we decided that it would be for the best” Norman replied, “Harry’s fit as a fiddle but Peter gets out of breath way too easily…and I’m sure you’ve noticed how pudgy Harley is getting. The rolls of his stomach when he was in his swimming outfit, very telling. Too much junk food.”

To say Christine was shocked and saddened to hear a father say that about his nine-year-old son was an understatement. Mary cringed.

“It’s just a bit of puppy fat, dear” she said through gritted teeth, “None of our boys need to lose any weight if you ask me, but they do all seem to enjoy the workout routines regardless, and I’m glad they’re having a more streamlined exercise programme. Stops Harry and Harley spending all day in front of a video game, stops Peter….reading constantly, I guess.”

“Hey, and it’s with Ben” May said reasonably. Christine appreciated that both women had clearly understood how horrified she’d been with Norman’s comments and had immediately jumped in to PR mode to save face. But the damage was done. “He was a personal trainer for years, he knows what he’s doing, and the boys adore spending so much time with him.”

Norman chuckled.

“Yes, we’ve got all bases covered” he said, completely unaware of the unspoken conversation that was occurring between the three women in the room. That the boys adored spending time with Ben because he was a positive male role model who paid positive attention to them and didn’t see them as chess pieces like their father did. “Anyway, I’d better be making tracks, sweetheart.”

“OK” Mary said as Norman leaned in and kissed her, and rested a hand on her stomach, “Drive safely, and make sure that your parents are aware Christine’s going to be staying with us until Tuesday.”

“Yeah, yeah” Norman called as Beck appeared by his side, handed him his coat and both men left through the front door. Christine noted that Norman didn’t even seem to consider finding his sons to say goodbye before he left.

Once he had finally gone, like always, the mood in the house seemed to lift. Mary’s shoulders went from hunched to relaxed and Christine felt her own do the same. May’s demeanor never changed; Christine wondered if it ever did.

“Christine, I am so sorry you had to hear that” Mary said immediately, “I hope you don’t think I’m the kind of mother who would force that on her children. The boys wanted to do it. I swear.”

“It’s OK, I wasn’t thinking anything of the sort” Christine replied, “Truth be told, it was just a little shocking to hear Mr. Osborne talk about Harley’s weight like that.”

“He doesn’t mean any harm” Mary sighed, “He’s just got a particular way of wanting the boys to be, and no one wants an overweight and unhealthy child, do they?”

Christine frowned. Harley Osborne was in no way overweight. He wasn’t even close. He just had, like all kids had, puppy fat. The Osborne kids were really what sold the family. As beautiful and kind as Mary was, and as charismatic and forceful Norman was, it was the sight of their three beautiful sons that had really made the world sit up and take notice of them.

Harry, the eldest, was pretty much the carbon copy of his mother. He boasted baby blue eyes, light blonde hair and had his mother’s exact – and very impressive – bone structure. The only thing he’d seemed to have inherited visually from Norman were his slightly crooked nose and his height. Harry was only thirteen but he was almost taller than Mary already, and had his sights set on May next.

Harley had most of the same traits, with a few differences. He had Mary’s button nose as opposed to Norman’s crooked one but boasted the same baby blue eyes as his mother and eldest brother. Harley’s status as the smallest of the boys was only down to the disadvantages of being the youngest brother, the kid was growing fast and Christine could tell that sooner rather than later he would be taller than Peter who, looks wise, was the outlier of the family.

Peter had chestnut brown hair, wide brown eyes and his father’s crooked nose. Visually, he was the son who bore the most resemblance to Norman (even if he was arguably the least like him characteristically) and seemed to be in no rush to grow. He was naturally skinny as opposed to his brothers who were both quite broad and had rather large ears. Despite this, however, in Christine’s opinion it was Peter who would probably grow up to be the best looking. He had all the right features, he just needed to wait a while for them to set into place.

Soon enough, Peter was standing at the kitchen door. He beamed when he saw Christine and ran to give her a hug.

“Hey sweetie” she said fondly. All of the boys had wormed their little ways into her heart over the last few months but god, Peter….he’d really done a number on her.

“I’ve missed you” Peter mumbled into her blouse. Christine chuckled. Peter was the softest of the boys by far but she knew there was no way he’d be so openly mushy in front of his brothers. She wanted to tell him that he was being a little bit silly and that it had only been a week, but truth be told, she’d missed him as well.

All of the boys had their mother’s best qualities in spades, thankfully, but it was only Peter who seemed to have inherited that special something Mary had. He just radiated goodness. Peter was the kind of kid who walked into a room and immediately lit it up, he was impossible to dislike, and a cynical part of Christine wondered if this was why Peter was Norman’s favorite. Not because Peter’s natural charisma and good nature made him easy to warm to for Norman himself, but because they warmed other people to him, which reflected well on his parenting and thus meant Peter was a useful tool for Norman to use for his own gain.

She didn’t want to think that she just….did sometimes.

Peter released himself from the hug and smiled before taking a seat next to Christine.

“Where are your brothers, baby?” Mary asked.

“They’re fighting” Peter replied with a chuckle, “They were having an argument about who was gonna go in the shower after me. Stupid, really. I left them rolling on the floor.”

May smirked as she made eye-contact with Mary. “Same old, same old” it seemed to say and based off of Christine’s interactions with the two presently absent Osborne brothers, that seemed a fair assessment.

“So, you’re saying with a got an H-bomb situation” May asked Peter who grinned. And maybe the room seemed a little lighter for it. H-Bomb, Christine had learned, was the code name for when relations between the similarly named Harry and Harley weren’t in the best of places. Just because she’d warmed to Peter the most didn’t mean Christine adored his brothers any less.

Harry carried the same level of charisma as Peter, but a different kind. His was built more like Norman’s. Where Peter’s charisma came in the form of being so gosh-dang-good, Harry’s was more dangerous, he could make people swarm to him like flies and bask in his energy. It wasn’t a power the young teenager seemed to be aware of just yet, but Christine knew Harry could grow up to be quite forceful if he was to fully embrace it. Fortunately, he had a lot of his mother’s natural kindness in him and Christine had seem him stand up to Norman or behalf of his little brothers on enough occasions that she wasn’t too worried about him turning to any dark side. Harry was a good kid. He was a complete and total little shit who seemed to revel in embarrassing his father, but he was a good kid. He had a good heart.

Harley was the true little rebel of the family. He was more than willing to use his cute little button face to pout and wrap everyone around his little finger. If Harry’s rebellion was built on intelligence and choosing the right time to make the right dig at his father’s ego, Harley’s was more built up in just complete destruction and chaos. Christine had no doubt that he’d detonated the H-Bomb this time. Still, Harley was his mother’s son way more than he was his father’s and he had a particular softness too him. Christine had seen him care for multiple animals he came across, and he was easily the brother who willingly initiated the most hugs.

Mary gave May a nod and the woman disappeared upstairs to go and sort the two fighting brothers out whilst Peter leaped off his stool and wrapped his mother in a hug. It was hard not to be moved by the softness and love between the two. Christine knew that Mary’s entire life was her son’s – her three princes, as she called them – and that it was returned ten-fold by them. Though, the softness seemed to evaporate a little when May frog marched Harry and Harley into the kitchen.

Both looked very angry. Harry petulantly sat down at one end of the table after May gave him a gentle push as she lead Harley, by the hand, to the opposite end. Christine had to suppress a smile. She always enjoyed sitting back watching Mary and May’s flawless co-parenting back and forth.

“What’s the situation then, Mrs. Parker?” Mary asked sternly. They always reverted to more formal names when any of the boys were in trouble.

“Well, Mrs. Osborne, it appears that Harry and Harley’s way of solving a problem was to punch one another and then roll around on the floor” May answered, “Which is a bit of a shame, because the last time I checked, that was how babies solve their problems.”

Harry yawned and rolled his eyes, stretching his hands up as he did so. He had yet to make eye-contact with anyone in the room. Harley was sitting with his head resting on his palm, looking very grumpy but also like a cute little teddy bear. Probably not helped by the fact he was literally dressed in a teddy bear onesie.

“I agree” Mary replied with a sigh, “It is a shame. Because we can’t let babies use the bouncy castle on the lake at tomorrow’s party now, can we?”

“Like I care” Harry muttered but Harley’s head had snapped up in horror.

“On the lake?!” he asked.

“Oh sorry, did you hear something Mrs. Osborne?” May asked.

“No, but I think I’m having my hearing problems again” Mary sighed, “You know, the one where I can only hear little boys who are going to tell me the truth about what happened upstairs.”

“This is pathetic” Harry said grumpily, “I’m not three, you know.”

“Peter, honey, would you like to take Christine’s bags to her room for me?” Mary asked, cupping her middle son’s cheeks as he looked up and her and nodded, “And maybe you could show her the presents we picked up for her in Martha’s Vineyard!”

“What?!”

“That’s not fair!”

Harry and Harley had both leaped out of their chairs in protests.

“I bought Auntie Christine that with my own money!” Harry shouted, “I want to give it to her myself.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll only give her mine” Peter said, flashing his winning smile at both of his brothers who seemed to immediately calm and sit back down. May hid her mouth behind a hand to shield the fact she was laughing as Mary pursed her lips.

Christine followed Peter out of the room and down the hallway to where she’d left her bags by the front door before Norman had whisked her away. She knew Mary had wanted her out of the way so she could properly deal with her sons without the fear of a journalist around to judge her parenting methods, but it was nice to spend some one on one time with Peter. Despite his age and skinny appearance, Peter was surprisingly strong. Christine wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been stronger than Harry, even, as he carried her two not exactly heavy but not exactly light suitcases up two flights of stairs with no complaints.

It was one of the odder things she’d noticed in her time with the Osborne’s. Despite all appearances suggesting otherwise, Peter was incredibly athletic. She’d seen him do backflips, front flips, ten-minute-long handstands and had even almost bested Ben in a push up contest during one family barbeque. Christine didn’t even want to start theorizing as to why or how, she was very well aware she might not like the answer if she dug too far under the surface. For now, she was just happy to think of Peter as being athletic and strong. Loads of kids could do backflips, it wasn’t anything to worry about.

“Sorry about my brothers” Peter said as she showed Christine to her usual guest room, “They’re being idiots like always, over who got to go in a shower when we have like fifty showers in this whole house. But they both wanted to use the one in my room. Silly. I don’t get them.”

Christine smirked. She knew why. It wasn’t just Norman who made it clear Peter was his favorite, both of his brothers did as well. They adored him. They’d both wanted to take a shower in Peter’s room because it meant they got to spend more time with Peter, but at the age of ten and eleven tomorrow, Peter was entirely unaware of that. Christine hoped that innocence would remain with the boys forever.

*

It was a scene of domestic bliss by the time Christine and Peter returned downstairs. Harley was bundled up by May, who had drooped her arms across him, showing him the recipe Mary was following. Harry was all smiles now, laughing with his mother as he helped her grease the oven tray. Peter, being as sweet as ever, hadn’t given Christine her gift upstairs and had instead gathered all three so each brother could present theirs at the same time. She couldn’t help but smile as she recalled Jameson’s instructions not to get attached when she’d first been assigned the Osborne’s, but she was way too far gone by these boys now and couldn’t bring herself to care about fixing it.

“Auntie Christine!” Harley yelped as he climbed off of his stool and ran towards her, “I’m sorry I didn’t say hello to you before when I was mad at Harry, it was rude. I’m sorry.”

“Aww, buddy, don’t you worry about it” Christine chuckled as she leaned down and hugged Harley who smiled and ran back to May once released. Harry tapped her on the shoulder and smiled. He wasn’t as big on hugs as his brother – just at that age – but smiled at her anyway.

“I’m sorry too” he said, “I let my stupid temper get in the way, especially cos we’ve all been really looking forward to seeing you again.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just happy you and your brother are friends again” she smiled back. Harry grinned and returned to Mary who mouthed a ‘thank you’ at Christine.

They baked for the next few hours, under the strict instructions that everything they make be saved for Peter’s party the next day, and then settled to watch a movie. Though she couldn’t deny her attachment nor the fact that the three very thoughtful presents she’d received from the boys had nearly reduced her to tears, Christine kept her usual distance and just let the family be. Mary and May made one hell of a team when it came to managing the three boys.

When Harley cut his finger open with a knife, May was right there with a band aid.

When Peter dropped an entire tray of freshly made cookies and nearly burst into tears, Mary scooped down next to him, said four words Christine couldn’t hear and then Peter was laughing again as they both picked up the mess.

When Harry received a call from a girl he had a crush on and made his voice an octave deeper, Mary and May were right by his side, tickling him and teasing him in an attempt to get him to slip up.

“Well, this is very cozy” Ben Parker said as he walked in the living room. It was cozy. Harley was tucked up under his mother’s arm, yawning and nearly falling asleep as Finding Nemo went on. Harry was laying down with his feet on May’s lap as she played with Peter’s messy curls as he sat on the floor just beneath her.

“Ben, can we play soft ball later?” Harley asked.

“Maybe not tonight buddy” Ben sighed, “Your grandparents should be back with your father any minute now, formal fun will have to wait until tomorrow.”

Harley groaned a little but accepted the compromise. Christine smiled as Ben shot her a wink and pulled one of the forbidden cookies from the table behind him and chomped into it. None of the boys noticed as their attention had immediately been drawn back to the film.

“Mm, these are so good” Ben said as he loudly ate the cookie. Mary hid a laugh behind Harley’s onesie hood as the boy noticed Ben eating the cookie and turned around in horror.

“Mom, he’s eating the cookies!” Harley whined. This attracted the attention of both Peter and Harry who looked utterly scandalized.

“Ben! What the hell?”

“That’s not fair, Mom said we couldn’t have any until tomorrow!”

“Honey, you might gets both fired!” May said in faux outrage. Ben continued to shamelessly eat the cookie as the indignation in the room ramped up more and more.

“Ahh, Mrs. Osborne said you guys couldn’t have any until tomorrow” Ben teased, “She didn’t say anything about me, guess I can have as many as I like…”

“No!”

“Stop him!”

“You know what to do boys!” Mary called as Harley pounced off of her lap and sped towards Ben, who was slowly making his way back to the kitchen, with the others.

“Take him down kids!” May called, “Show him no mercy, you have my total permission!”

Ben Parker was likely stronger than all three combined but went down with fake ease as Harley jumped on his back and Peter and Harry, laughing hysterically, tackled him to the ground. The four boys – because that’s what they were – all rolled around on the floor with laughter as Mary shot May and then Christine a fond smile.

“AHHH GET THESE THINGS OFF OF ME!” Ben yelled as he thrashed around. Eventually, he managed to stand up, and flung Harley over his shoulder. Peter and Harry tried to restrict him by the legs but Ben was strong enough to drag them all back over the sofa’s. May pushed the coffee table out of the way quickly so the four would have some more space to roll about.

“WE’RE GONNA GET HIM!” Harley yelled as Ben softly planted him on the floor and began to tickle the life out of him, “Get him!”

“What? You think I can’t take all three of you?!” Ben challenged as Peter and Harley tried to round on him again, but Ben pulled them around and lined them up so they were laid on their backs next to Harley. With a grin and a gleam in his eyes, Ben turned around to face May and Mary.

“On second thoughts” he panted, “I’m going to need some help here!”

Mary and May looked at one another and laughed before sliding down to the floor and joining in the tickle attack that Ben had unleashed on the boys.

“BETRAYED!” Peter shouted.

“AND I DON’T EVEN FEEL BAD ABOUT IT” May shouted back as she took a hysterical Harley up in her arms and rolled him around again. Mary gave up tickling Harry after a few seconds as he seemed over it, but Peter and Ben carried on.

Until a slightly unimpressed cough broke the scene.

Christine turned around and cringed as she saw Norman Osborne, Quentin Beck and two very unimpressed and snooty looking elders watching the scene unfolded before them. The following silence was only broken by a snort from May Parker.

*

An hour later, and Christine was getting ready in her guest bedroom. It was apparently custom to dress up for dinner a little in Osborne manner when Eleanor and Welles Osborne deemed to visit. Christine felt very relieved she’d had the foresight to pack at least one decent outfit for her three day stay. Her guest room was just across the hall from the boy’s bedrooms and she could faintly hear the sounds of light bickering as they flitted from one room to another getting ready.

Turning her mirror slightly with the door a little ajar, Christine could see Harry and Peter gathered on the landing. Harry whispered something in Peter’s ear and caused his brother to laugh. They were both wearing buttoned down shirts and blue ties which made them look very smart, but unnatural. These were young boys having dinner in their own house on a Saturday night, it was wrong that they should be having to dress so formally. Harry again made a joke in Peter’s ear and they both grinned. Christine hoped it was at the expense of either their father or snooty grandparents.

Harley soon appeared behind them and asked for help with getting ready. Christine smiled. The youngest of the three had his shirt untucked, his laces undone and his tie untied. With Mary and May likely just as busy getting ready for dinner, it was down to his older brothers to help him and Christine’s heart felt like it was growing three sizes as she watched Peter bend down to tie his brother’s laces and Harry smile at Harley as he did his tie up for him. Then, Peter combed his hand through Harley’s hair as Harry helped the younger tuck his shirt in. He looked surprisingly presentable, considering.

It had been an awkward introduction to Welles and Eleanor. Whilst Christine was aware that she had not been rolling around on the floor in an apparently undignified manner, she had been present in the room and that seemingly made her an accomplice. Eleanor had treated her with cold disdain though Christine figured the woman might just be weary of journalists who were compiling reports on her son and his family. Welles had seemed slightly more jovial but very much under the thumb of his wife. Norman had clearly been seething but hid it well, quickly sending the boys and Christine off to get ready. She imagined husband and wife were probably arguing in hushed tones somewhere.

Once she was ready, Christine made her way into the dining room where pretty much everyone was already gathered. Norman sat at the head of the table, naturally, with Quentin Beck and Mary seated to his left and then his right respectively. Welles and Eleanor were sat opposite one another whilst Christine was left to take a seat opposite an empty space. May sat down next to her, thankfully.

“That’ll be for either Richard or Steven” she whispered in Christine’s ear, “Late as always.”

Christine smiled back. She had met Norman’s old college roommate Steven Westcott on a number of occasions over the summer, and he seemed like a nice man. Very fond of Mary and the kids, again his favourite seemed to be Peter, but Christine had noticed a frosty distance between him and the man he claimed was his oldest friend. She couldn’t help but wonder if Steven only kept himself in Norman’s inner circle for the connection to money and power. He was an attorney.

Richard Parker was Ben’s brother and another employee. From what she could tell, Richard appeared to be the laboratory manager and head Scientific lead for Oscorp, making him pretty much second in command to Norman. Curiously, Christine had not yet had the pleasure of Richard’s company as he’d been dispatched to Europe for the summer on Norman’s orders so he could make some good connections of the continent and conduct some research in Russia. He’d returned to the United States a week ago but had not turned into work, citing exhaustion.

The boys filed in, rather like the Von Trapp children, and were made to apologize to their grandparents for the “embarrassing display”. Christine and May nearly laughed at the face Harry pulled after being forced to give his grandmother a kiss on the cheek. She was as cold and dismissive to her grandsons as she was to everyone else and the boys were rather unceremoniously shooed to the other end of the table like they were some kind of problem.

“Poor kids” Christine muttered under her breath.

“I wouldn’t be too sad for them” May whispered back, “I’d much rather they be on this end of the table with us than down there with the hoity toity Adams family.”

Christine smirked as May poured her a glass of wine. Ben and, presumably, Richard then entered and greeted the Osborne grandparents. Norman stood up and shook Richard’s hand and thanked him for the work he’d done that summer, to which Richard was coy. He kissed Mary on the cheek before making his way down the table and seating himself opposite Christine, who smiled at him. Her night had certainly got a little better now she was sitting opposite Richard Parker and got to stare at his frankly ridiculously handsome face for the rest of the evening.

Christine knew that Ben Parker was attractive. Very, very attractive and his brother had certainly inherited the same impressive genealogy. And, unlike Ben, Richard was not married and therefore it was totally OK for Christine to flirt with him.

“Ahh, you must be the journalist?” Richard asked as he extended his hand for Christine to shake, “They told me you’d be here. All good I hope?”

“So far” Christine said with a smile, “I’d love to pick your brains over that trip to Europe sometime. Sounds illuminating.”

“Well, I’m around for Pete’s birthday” Richard said, looking fondly at the boy who was the center of a new argument between his brother’s over who was going to get to sit next to him and who would be opposite, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Literally. I flew back for it.”

“Richard and Peter are very close” May added, “I’m sure you’ve noticed that Peter is a budding little scientist, and Richard here has been coaching him for years. More than Norman.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that” Richard replied modestly, “Mr. Osborne’s just as keen for Peter to spend time in the lab as I am”

“But you’ve been more involved in looking after Peter when he has his fits” May shot back.

Christine grimaced as she remembered the fits. Peter would, on occasion, be prone to fits in his sleep and it had resulted in many a situation over the summer where Norman would carry a limp Peter into his car one the fit was over and drive him to the medical bay at Oscorp towers. It was so routine for the family at this point that no one really commented on it, many times they all slept through it. Mary would always wake up, get her other two boys some breakfast and then prepare to cuddle and hush Peter’s cries for the rest of the day when Norman brought him back to the house. It was a fairly unconventional arrangement in Christine’s opinion, but it seemed to be one that worked for the family.

“How has he been over the summer?” Richard asked pointedly, “Many?”

“A handful” Ben sighed, “Poor kid, but we’re all finding our groove with it. Our own little roles. I’ll bet Mr. Osborne will be glad to have you back to help him out now though.”

“I’m just doing my job” Richard muttered.

“What? Getting up in the middle of the night with zero notice to treat an epileptic teenager?” May shot back impatiently, “That’s not just doing your job, Richard, that’s going above and beyond. You’re a saint. My brother-in-law is far too modest, Christine, don’t you agree?”

“Oh, yes, sure” Christine replied quickly, having spent the last few minutes getting lost in Richard’s very pretty eyes.

“It’s not an issue of modesty, it’s practicality” Richard argued.

“Can’t it be a little bit of both?” Ben asked, apparently he was always the mediator between his wife and his brother, “Let’s be honest, I think we’d all go above and beyond for the boys.”

_But especially Peter._

It was unsaid, but they were all thinking it.

May nodded and seemed content to drop the subject. Over the course of dinner, Christine found herself the subject of cross examination of the ethics of Journalism from Norman’s parents but was thankfully saved by the combined diplomacy of Mary and Richard. Eleanor and Welles retired to bed early due to being tired from their flight but had agreed to give Christine a short interview the next day at Norman’s insistence. It was clear they were as enthusiastic about the prospect as Christine was. Like their son earlier in the day, neither paid the boys the slightest bit of attention before retiring.

Not that any of the kids seemed to mind or even notice. They were too busy being enchanted by Richard’s stories from Europe and were then engulfed in a game of UNO lead by Steven Westcott, who had arrived midway through dinner and had even somehow managed to charm Eleanor and Welles. He’d sat with the boys and told them funny jokes all the way through dinner, so at least they had been mildly entertained. It had been nice to see. Steven sat next to Peter and kept a steadying hand on his back as the boys played with Ben and Richard joining in as well. It had been a nice night; the only downside had been that Richard had been entirely unresponsive at her attempts to flirt with him.

Norman and Beck had excused themselves to talk shop in the library soon after his parents had gone to bed, though everyone present knew they were just going to crack open a bottle of scotch and moan about Tony Stark’s disappearance getting more attention than they felt it deserved.

“Where do you suppose he is?” Mary asked when Christine brought up the subject himself, “Tony Stark was always something of a wild child, but a disappearing act like this? It doesn’t ring true.”

“He must be on some kind of bender” May reasoned, “His whole life is one big boozy bender, always has been. He’ll turn up with his tail between his legs eventually.”

“It’s pretty serious” Christine replied, “Pepper Potts and James Rhodes are going out of their minds, even Obadiah Stane is worried and that man saw the second plane hit the Twin Towers, shrugged and went back home.”

“Christ” May breathed, “That is serious….God, I hope he doesn’t die. One less for the eye-candy meter. Tony Stark may be an ass, but he’s also a damn fine piece of ass.”

“Who’s a damn fine piece of ass, dear?” Ben called from the other side of the room.

“You and only you” May called back as all the Osborne boys shuddered and pulled funny faces. Richard smirked and cast his arm around Peter’s shoulders. Mary sighed.

Steven Westcott won the game of UNO decisively and amongst the madness of the boys throwing their cards at him out of frustration, announced it was time he left. All of the boys groaned.

“Wait, Uncle Skip!” Peter called after him as Steven put his coat back on, “D’you have to go? Why don’t you just stay the night?”

“No can-do kiddo” Steven replied resting his hand on Peter’s shoulder, “I’ve got two dogs and a hamster to think about. But I will be back bright and early for your party tomorrow.”

“Good” Peter replied crossing his arms, “I’d have been mad if you weren’t”

“Aww, would I have got a Peter pout?” Steven asked as he knelt down to be at Peter’s eye-level and pulled a fake pout causing the ten-year-old to reluctantly smirk, “See you tomorrow champ. Night all!”

A general chorus of ‘night’ followed Steven out of the door. The boys rounded back on Ben after he jokingly went to get another cookie and Richard got up, stating tiredness as his reason for going to bed as well. May gave her brother-in-law a kiss on the cheek as he left but Mary barely acknowledged him, which struck Christine as odd given how successfully they’d teamed up against Eleanor just half an hour before. Mary grimaced to herself before collecting her things together and standing up.

“Right, my three little princes, it’s time for bed!” she called over to where the boys were draped over Ben in various positions. Harley was more or less totally upside down. He giggled as Ben hoisted him the right way around and set him on the floor.

“Aww, can’t we stay up a little bit longer?” he asked, “It’s Peter’s birthday eve!”

“Birthday Eve?!” May repeated mockingly as she stood up and draped her arms around Harley, “That’s not a thing you know!”

“Is so!”

“Is not!”

“Is so!”

“Is not!”

“OK, OK” Mary laughed over May and Harley’s bickering, “Peter and Harry, I am assuming I can trust you both to be more mature than May and actually take yourselves off to bed without me having to intervene.”

May mockingly stuck her tongue out at Mary and Harley followed suit, causing May to gasp and Mary to raise an eyebrow at her youngest son who just carried on giggling.

“Are we gonna have a problem here?” Mary asked.

Harley laughed again.

“I think we are” May replied.

Harley laughed again; he knew what was coming. Peter and Harley did too, they stood by the double doors and opened them wide, as Ben Parker ran over to Harley and flung him back over his shoulders. Harley kicked and giggled as Ben did a victory lap around the table with him before heading out of the room and running upstairs towards the boy’s bedroom.

Christine followed as Mary and May each put an arm around the remaining boys and steered them in the right directions.

“I can’t believe you’re going to be 11 when you wake up” May groaned as she rested her chin on Peter’s head and her arms draped around his neck as they climbed the stairs. Peter giggled. “It’s bad enough that Harry’s a crusty, hormonal teenager now you’re going to be one as well.”

“I’m not that bad!” Harry protested from behind, where Mary was repeating the same action with him, “I barely even moaned today, you have to admit that”

“No, but you kicked your little brother in the head over who got to shower first” Mary reminded him.

“At least he’s finally showering, I guess” May interjected, “Now he only smells a little worse than he used to.”

“You guys are bullies!” Harry declared with a laugh, his voice full of love and appreciation for the two women in front of him. As they reached the top of the stairs, Ben quietly exited Harley’s room and informed a very relieved Mary that the youngest of her sons had worn himself out.

Mary went to kiss his forehead good night anyway whilst May and Ben shunted Harry and Peter off into their own bedrooms. Christine bid them good night before heading off on her own. She kept her door slightly ajar once again and after a few minutes heard cross whispering from across the hall. She didn’t want to poke her head out and appear nosey, so she just listened as the voices went back and forth.

“I asked you not to come here.”

“I had no choice”

“You could have found an excuse. You just got back from Russia!”

“Don’t you think that would have made him suspicious?”

“No! He’s too wrapped up in himself if you’re out of sight and mind. But you’re here, Richard, he’s bound to notice we can barely be in the same room as one another.”

“That’s you, not me. I’m fine.”

“Well, you’re not the one with every thing to lose, are you?”

Christine’s heart almost stopped. Those were the voices of Mary Osborne and Richard Parker. It all made sense now. Why Richard wasn’t open to flirtation. Why they’d had such good chemistry taking down Eleanor. Why Mary had been so uncharacteristically court when Richard went to bed. They were tying to avoid one another.

Because they’d been having an affair.

Mary Osborne and Richard Parker were having an affair.

Christine’s mind began racing at a million miles an hour. Who else knew about this? How long had this been going on? Was-

Was the baby in Mary’s stomach even Norman’s?

**Author's Note:**

> DUM-DUM-DUMMM
> 
> And that is the first of many, many cliffhangers to come. This is not, however, a chaptered story and is part of a series called Blood Feud. I will be adding to it episodically, so you are better off bookmarking Blood Feud the series in order to keep up to date. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and please leave any comments you have down below,  
> I'm very excited about this series,  
> Much love,  
> Jamie xxxx


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